News Centre

SIFMA Statement On SEC’s Proposed Money Market Fund Reform

Date 05/06/2013

SIFMA today released the following statement from Timothy Cameron, managing director and head of SIFMA’s Asset Management Group (AMG), after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today voted on proposed rules to reform money market funds (MMFs). 

SEC Charges Penny Stock Company And CEO for Illegal Stock Offering And Insider Trading

Date 05/06/2013

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a microcap company that was ensnared in an SEC trading suspension proactively targeting questionable penny stocks, and also charged the CEO who illicitly profited from selling his shares while investors were unaware of the company’s financial struggles.

TSX Markets: Top 20 Largest Consolidated Short Position Report - May 31, 2013

Date 05/06/2013

Please find below the Top 20 Largest Consolidated Short Position Report Highlights. The report is produced twice monthly, effective the 15th and the end of each month. The report below covers the 2-week period ending May 31th, 2013.

Statement At The SEC Open Meeting On Money Market Fund Reform - Opening Statement By SEC Commissioner Elisse B. Walter

Date 05/06/2013

"The SEC, by virtue of its institutional expertise and statutory authority, is best positioned to implement reforms to address the risk that money market funds present to the economy."1Although this sounds like it might be a quote from the Commission, I am actually quoting a statement from the Financial Stability Oversight Council's 2013 Annual Report. And I strongly believe that today's proposing release reveals how true that statement is. While all rule releases reflect the work and expertise of many people around the Commission, the product that is before the Commission today is a prime example of collaboration, harnessing expertise from all corners of the agency including staff from a variety of Divisions and Offices and each of the Commissioners and their staffs. Since the beginning of the year, the Commissioners and the staff have been heavily engaged in developing this proposal - committed not just to getting it done, but to getting it done in the right way - a proposal that analyzes the range of alternatives for money market fund reform; a proposal based on a careful analysis of available data by SEC economists, working side by side with the subject matter experts in the Division of Investment Management; a proposal that addresses the risks that money market funds may present to the financial system; and, perhaps most significant, a proposal that addresses the Commission's core mission of protecting investors. Let me touch upon these aspects.

S&P Dow Jones Indices: Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index: Commodities Fall Short In May

Date 05/06/2013

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• DJ-UBS Commodity Index fell 2.2% in May, bringing the index’s YTD total return down to -6.0%.
• DJ-UBS Energy lost 4.7% this month and was almost flat YTD, coming in at 0.6%.
• DJ-UBS Grains was up 2.3% in May, driven by wet weather that resulted in delayed plantings.
• DJ-UBS Softs fell 6.8% MTD, bringing the index to its lowest level sinceJuly 2010.
• DJ-UBS Industrial Metals posted gains in May, up 1.6% for the month, with only nickel declining.
• DJ-UBS Precious Metals lost 6.1% in May, driving its YTD return to-19.7%.

Statement At SEC Open Meeting – Proposed Rules Regarding Money Market Funds By SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher

Date 05/06/2013

Thank you, Chair White.  I would like to join my colleagues in thanking the staff for all of the hard work that went into today’s proposing release.  I would like to extend a special thank you to Norm Champ, Craig Lewis, Kathleen Hanley, Sarah ten Siethoff, Jennifer Bethel, Brian Johnson, and Thoreau Bartmann for their efforts leading up to today, and I would also like to thank our former colleague, Eileen Rominger, for all of the wise counsel that she provided me last year on the issues underlying this rulemaking.

S&P GSCI: Market Attributes - Commodities - Commodities Missed The Mark In May

Date 05/06/2013

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The S&P GSCI fell 1.5% in May, bringing the index’s YTD total return down to -5.6%.
• The S&P GSCI Energy lost 1.9% this month, driving down the YTD total return to -4.7% and losing its position as the best performing sector index YTD.
• The S&P GSCI Agriculture lost 61 basis points in May, bringing the YTDtotal return down to -4.4% and making it the best performer in 2013.
• The S&P GSCI Livestock was slightly down again in May, off 65 basis points, which added to its negative performance for the year, now off 8.1%.
• The S&P GSCI Industrial Metals, led by lead, was the only sector index to post gains in May, up 2.6%.
• The S&P GSCI Precious Metals lost 5.8% in May, driving down its YTD total return to -18.5%.

Striving To Restructure Money Markets Funds To Address Potential Systemic Risk By SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar

Date 05/06/2013

Today, the Commission considers amending the rules that govern money market funds to address potential systemic risks.  Before I begin, I would like to recognize the efforts of the staff throughout the SEC, especially the Division of Investment Management and the Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation.  I acknowledge and appreciate the staff’s good work in examining the 2010 amendments to Rule 2a-7 and the staff’s report, which concluded that, among other things, the 2010 amendments would not have been adequate to prevent the systemic risks that we saw in 2008.  This report has resulted in the much-improved proposal that is before us today.  

Federal Reserve Board Approves Interim Final Rule On Treatment Of Uninsured U.S. Branches And Agencies Of Foreign Banks Under Section 716 Of Dodd-Frank

Date 05/06/2013

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday approved an interim final rule clarifying the treatment of uninsured U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks under the so-called swaps push-out provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Opening Statement at the SEC Open Meeting By SEC Chairman Mary Jo White - Money Market Funds Reform

Date 05/06/2013

This is an open meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 5, 2013.

Today, the Commission will consider proposals that would reform the way money market funds operate in order to make them less susceptible to runs.